The Treasure of Titans
by Meg Rider
Summary: The day Earth was destroyed Meg and Cale were separated from their fathers and never saw them again. They now live in space with Sarah Hawkins and her son Jim. When Jim finds the map to the legendary Treasure Planet the 3 friends set off to find it. But on the journey they will find the map not only leads to Treasure Planet but also to answers about what happened to their fathers.
1. Chapter 1

_I am definitely a daddy's girl, but we live 1,300 miles away from each other; so, I wanted to write a story about a girl who had a close relationship with her dad, but is now separated from him. Here it is..._

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**Pierce, Colorado – 3028 A.D.**

"Daddy, why can't I go with you?" Four-year-old Meg Korso asked her father as he sped through the military base.

"You're too young, Meg," Joseph Korso- known to most as just Korso- replied. "Where I'm going is no place for a little girl." He glanced down at Meg, who was sitting on his lap clutching her favorite stuffed animal; a pink and purple seahorse he got for her while on assignment in Greece last year. He smiled at his daughter. "Besides, you like spending time with Sarah."

Meg bit her lip. "I guess." Sarah Hawkins was a nice woman who owned the local Inn. She always looked after Meg and her best friend, Cale Tucker, when their fathers weren't around. "But I'd rather go with you."

"When you're older, Meg."

"How old?"

Korso pondered for a moment as he turned down the street where the Inn was located. "When you're eighteen."

Meg pouted. "That's forever from now!"

"Fourteen years," Cale chimed in from the backseat. Despite only being five-years-old, Cale Tucker was very smart. He and his father, Sam Tucker, were inventors. Just recently Cale had invented the toy he had with him now. Meg didn't know what it did, though. Cale said she had to wait to see it until he could show it off to Sarah's young son, Jim.

Korso parked his car and the four of them got out. Sarah was waiting by the door and Cale ran to her, with Sam close behind. Meg looked up at her father. "When I'm eighteen," she repeated.

Korso crouched down in front of her and put his hand on her shoulder. "When you're eighteen, if you still want to go where I'm going, I'll take you with me."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise." Korso kissed her forehead, then picked her up.

"Hello, Joseph," Sarah greeted. She then smiled at Meg. "Hello, Meg. That is a lovely dress you're wearing."

"Is it?" Korso gave Meg's blue dress a once over. "I picked it out for her, but sometimes I have no idea what I'm doing. At times, raising a little girl can be more foreign to me than most languages."

Sarah giggled. "I assure you, Joseph; you're doing a terrific job. Meg is a wonderful little girl."

Meg beamed. "Thank you, Miss Sarah."

Korso shifted Meg in his arms so she was facing him. "I have to go now, Meg. I don't want you or Mr. Fuzzyfinkles causing any trouble for Sarah while I'm gone." He tapped the nose of her stuffed animal.

Meg giggled. "Yes, daddy."

He gave her another kiss and a tight hug before setting her on the floor. "I love you more than anything, Meg."

"I love you, too, daddy."

Sam walked passed Meg, towards the door; his combat boots making a loud clunking noise on the wooden floor. "Ready, Korso?"

"Ready."

Sam looked down at Meg. "Keep Cale out of trouble, okay, Meg?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl." Sam looked to Sarah. "We'll be back tonight. Thanks again for watching them."

"It's no problem at all. Be careful out there, you two," Sarah told them.

Sam gave her a short nod and the two men left. Sarah closed the door behind them and turned her attention to Meg. "The boys went out back to play; why don't you join them."

Meg skipped through the Inn to the back door. There wasn't much behind the Inn; just a wheat field and a stream lined with trees and boulders. But that was plenty for three kids with big imaginations. Meg ran through the field and found Cale and Jim sitting by the stream. Cale's toy invention was bobbing in the water and making a whirring sound. After a moment it lifted itself out of the water and spun, shooting water out of holes on the bottom.

"Wow!" Jim exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

Cale smiled proudly. "I built it myself!"

Jim's face lit up. "You did?"

Meg sat down on a rock next to Cale, but he didn't seem to notice. "My dad helped a little, but it was mostly me."

"I made this!" Jim held up a wooden sailboat toy. It seemed insignificant compared to Cale's invention and it made Meg giggle.

Cale took it from him. "It's not bad, Jim. But we're gonna need a spaceship if we're ever going to find Treasure Planet."

Jim's eyes grew wide. "Flint's Trove!"

"That's right," Cale exclaimed. "Together, you and me can build the greatest spaceship ever and find Treasure Planet!"

"Mr. Fuzzyfinkles and I want to come, too!" Meg announced.

Cale frowned at her. "You can't come with us, Meg; you're just a girl."

"No girls allowed!" Jim added.

Meg started to protest when Cale's toy spun out of control, spitting water all over her. The boys laughed, causing Meg's face to grow hot. The toy crashed to the ground and Meg kicked it into the water. "It was a stupid invention anyway." She got to her feet and ran back to the Inn.

Sarah was sitting behind the counter, reading a novel when Meg came running in through the back door. Her dress was wet and most of her hair had fallen from her ponytail. "What's the matter, Meg?"

"I hate Jim!" Meg declared.

Sarah scowled at her. "Megara Josephine Korso! You know better than to say things like that!"

Meg wasn't sorry. "Well, it's true! Cale is supposed to be _my_ best friend, but every time we come here Jim is always around and Cale plays with him more than me. Jim is trying to steal my best friend!"

Sarah walked over to Meg and knelt down next to her. "Now, Meg, that's not true. Cale is still your best friend, but sometimes boys just want to play with other boys. You and Cale have always had each other and play together all the time." She turned Meg around and started fixing her ponytail. "But, Jim doesn't have any other friends and he looks up to Cale as a brother. You understand, sweetie; when Jane comes to visit, the two of you never want to play with the boys."

Meg looked back at her, hopefully. "Is Jane coming to visit today?"

"No. Jane lives in London; that's very far from here."

Jim came into the Inn just then. "Meg? Cale wanted me to tell you that he wants you to go back outside."

Meg narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't want to play with you, Jim."

"Megara…" Sarah warned.

Jim looked down at his sailboat. "He said he wants to talk to you alone about breaking his toy."

"Megara!" Sarah gasped. "Did you break Cale's toy?"

Meg lowered her eyes. "Yes, Miss Sarah."

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. "You know I'm gonna have to tell your father about this."

"No! Please don't tell him, Miss Sarah!"

"Go outside and apologize to Cale."

Meg nodded and hurried back outside. Cale was still sitting by the stream and his invention was laying in two pieces next to him.

"Cale?" Meg approached him and sat down next to him. She hugged Mr. Fuzzyfinkles to her chest like a shield. "Cale, I'm sorry I broke your invention. Please tell Miss Sarah you forgive me so she doesn't tell my daddy. If I cause trouble he might take back his promise and not take me with him when I'm older."

"Why do you want to go with him so badly? They just do boring grown up stuff. It's better to come here and play."

"You never play with me when we come here. Doing boring grown up stuff is better than watching you play with Jim." Meg sat down next to him. "You're supposed to be my best friend, not his. He's only three."

"You _are_ my best friend, Meg."

"Then why can't I go to Treasure Planet with you?"

Cale wrinkled his nose. "Girls can't go on adventures; that's for heroes."

"I can be a hero, too!"

"No you can't!"

Meg pouted. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

Cale thought for a moment. "Well, heroes always have to save the princess. So, you can be my princess and I'll save you."

"I don't need you to save me, Cale Tucker!" Meg stated. "I'm not in any danger. And if I was, my daddy would protect me. That's what daddies do."

"What if he's not there and Captain Flint gets you? You'll need me to save you then."

Meg shook her head hard. "My daddy will always be there."

"Cale!" a loud voice boomed from the field. Meg and Cale turned to see Sam running towards them. "Cale! Come here now!"

Cale scooped up the pieces of his toy and ran towards his dad. Meg chased after him. "Dad, my invention broke," Cale informed him.

"We'll fix it later, son. We have to go. Come on, Meg." Sam picked both of them up and ran towards the Inn.

Korso's car was parked in front of the Inn. He was in the driver's seat; Sarah was in the passenger seat with Jim on her lap. Jim was still clutching his sailboat.

"Daddy!" Meg wriggled out of Sam's grip and ran towards the car. Korso picked her up and set her in his lap. "Daddy, you came back for me."

Korso didn't say anything at first. As soon as Sam and Cale were in the car, he sped away from the Inn. Fighter jets flew overhead; there were so many they almost blocked out the entire sky. But, they were low enough for their propellers to cause a strong wind over them. Korso drove faster than Meg had ever seen him drive and didn't stop until they were back at the military base. Thousands of people were gathered at the base and all running towards ships. Korso pulled up in front of one of the ships.

"Dad, where's everyone going?" Cale asked.

"We're leaving, too," Sam told him as they got out of the car. "We all have to go someplace safe."

Sarah and Jim also got out of the car, but Korso didn't move.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Meg asked.

Korso held her close to him. "You're going to get on that ship and go someplace safe. You and Cale are gonna go with Sarah and Jim. But, Sam and I can't go with you. We have to go on a different ship. Sarah will look after you until we can meet up again."

Meg clung to her dad's shirt. "No, daddy! I want to go with you."

"You can't, Meg."

"Is this because I caused trouble at Sarah's? I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

Korso hugged his small daughter. "No, Meg. This isn't because of you. It's too dangerous for you to come with me." He got out of the car and walked over to Sarah and the Tuckers. It seemed Cale was equally as upset about his dad not coming with them.

"No, dad!" Cale cried. "Don't leave me!"

Sam was kneeling in front of Cale. He slipped his ring off and put it on Cale's finger. "Here, Cale; take this. As long as you wear it, there's hope. I'll see you again."

Meg was crying now. "When will I see you again, daddy?"

"I don't know, Meg. I wish I did. But, until then I need you to be good for Sarah, okay?"

Meg sniffled. "Okay."

"We'll be together again someday, I promise." Korso kissed her cheek. "Keep Mr. Fuzzyfinkles with you; he'll watch over you until I come for you."

"Sir, we have to go!" a man shouted at Korso.

"I'm coming!" he shouted back. "It's going to be all right, Meg. I love you very much."

Meg wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too, daddy!"

Korso set her down and Sarah took her hand. Sam was already back at the car and now Korso went after him.

"Daddy!" Meg cried. She tried to run after him, but Sarah pulled her back.

"Come, Meg! We have to get on the ship now!"

Meg watched her father drive away as they boarded the ship. Eventually she could no longer see him anymore, but she continued to stare through the window at the spot where he had been. But as the ship flew out of the Earth's atmosphere, she saw hundreds of other ships surrounding the planet. They shot lasers at the the Earth, causing giant explosions. Meg let out a terrified whimper and buried her face into her seahorse and let herself cry harder.

Cale couldn't bear seeing his best friend so upset. Even though he was scared and wanted to be with his dad, too, he knew he had to be the hero for Meg now. He reached over and took her hand. She looked over at him; her purple eyes filled with tears.

"I'll protect you until your dad comes back," Cale told her.


	2. Chapter 2

Planet Montressor – 3043 A.D. (15 years later)

When the cops burst through the door of the Benbow Inn, it startled the customers. The owner, Sarah Hawkins, gasped and dropped the stack of dirty dishes she had just cleared off the table. They smashed to the floor. Still, Meg didn't even flinch. She continued to set the plates on the table for a family who was now gawking at the door.

Jim had been arrested. Again. Big shock.

He wouldn't go to jail, though he was eighteen now. Professor Archimedes Porter was a Hawkins family friend as well as a very generous benefactor for the Montressor P.D. and he always used his pull to keep Jim out of jail. So, there were never any real consequences to Jim causing trouble. Except, of course, for a stern scolding from Sarah.

"James Pleiades Hawkins!" Sarah snapped.

Meg tuned out the all too familiar monotonous sound of the robot cops' voices. She picked up a bus tray of dirty dishes and just as Sarah was assuring the cops that this wouldn't happen again, Meg slipped through the swinging door into the kitchen. The cook had snuck to the dining area to watch the commotion. Meg set the tray next to the sink.

"Jim got arrested again?"

Meg turned to see Professor Porter's daughter, Jane, sitting on a counter. A tall garbage can was placed between her legs and she was bent over it, peeling potatoes. Jane's father had been an explorer back when they lived on Earth and, like Meg's father, he had promised to take her with him when she was older. Then Earth was destroyed and she's been stuck at the Inn since then. She was always optimistic, but anyone who took one look at her could tell she was restless.

"Yeah, he did," Meg replied. "But, they'll drop the charges. Like always."

"Is it just me or do I hear annoyance in your voice?" Jane looked up at her. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were unhappy about our friend not going to jail."

"He's not my friend," Meg corrected, unloading the dirty dishes into the sink. "He's a pain in the ass. Always has been."

"Go easy on him, Meg. His dad left him when he was just a boy and he's never had the proper structure he needs to guide him."

Meg wiped her hands on her apron and faced her friend. "My dad left me when I was little, too, Jane; but I still show up for work when I have to and stay out of trouble. Don't make excuses for him."

Meg shoved her way through the swinging door, back out to the dining area. The cops were gone now and the customers had gone back to minding their own business. The cook was just heading back into the kitchen. Meg glared at him.

"Do you think you could get my order for table 3, please?" she demanded.

He rolled his eyes. "Calm down, toots."

"Just do it." Meg grabbed the coffee pot off the burner behind the counter and made her rounds to refill the customers' coffee. By the time she had finished, her order was sitting in the window. "Now, was that so hard?" Meg asked the cook.

On her way to her table, Meg stopped at a table Jim was clearing. "Where were you?" she demanded.

Jim didn't look up. "Relax, Meg; I already got the third degree from my mom."

"When you're not here when you're supposed to be, I have to pick up your duties. And I don't have time to take care of all my orders and clean tables. I'm sick of you slacking off," Meg explained. "Now. Where were you?"

"You don't wanna know."

Meg groaned. "You were out looking for that damn map, weren't you? Give it a rest, Jim; you're never going to find Treasure Planet."

Now Jim looked at her. He lowered his voice. "I know you believe in the story of Captain Flint, too, Meg."

Meg stared hard at him for a moment before sighing. "Of course I believe in it. But the universe is endless; it could be anywhere, just like the map. What makes you think the map is here?"

"I just know it is."

"Well, do your hunting in your own time. Your mom needs us to help keep the Inn running. You need to keep your priorities in check."

XXXXXXXXXX

That night, Professor Porter came to the Inn after it closed so Sarah could thank him- again- for keeping Jim out of trouble. The Professor and Sarah were down in the dining area with Jane and Jim, but Meg wasn't in the mood to listen to the Professor talk about how much potential Jim has and how he's such a good kid and blah, blah, blah.

The second she was done, she went up to her room, showered and changed out of her uniform. As she was getting dressed, she heard a loud crash outside of the Inn. She yanked her hair into a ponytail and ran downstairs.

"What was that?" Meg asked.

Sarah and the Professor were sitting at a table by the window. They looked up from their conversation. "What was what?" Sarah asked.

"That crash."

"I didn't hear anything," Jane said from a nearby table, not looking up from her sketchbook.

Meg gaped at them. "How could-"

Meg was cut off by the door slamming open. Jim walked in from the rain with an old salamander alien draped over his shoulder.

Sarah sprung to her feet. "James Pleiades Hawkins!"

"Mom, he's hurt. Bad," Jim said, lying the man down on the floor.

The alien held a small chest in his hands. He punched in a code and the chest opened. He pulled out what looked like a small package and handed it to Jim. He whispered something into Jim's ear, then his head sank heavily back down to the floor.

Sarah slowly got up from her seat and walked over to them. "Did he just…?"

"Is he dead?" Meg finished for her.

Before anyone could respond, a large fire ball shot through the door.

"We need to get out of here!" Jim hissed.

He grabbed his mom's hand and the five of them ran through the kitchen to the back exit where the Professor had parked his carriage. They got inside and he sped off. Sarah glanced back to see the Inn, their home, was on fire and being invaded.


	3. Chapter 3

Meg leaned against the fireplace mantel and watched the flames. Behind her she could hear Jane pacing. The Professor was in the middle of telling Sarah that the Inn had burned to the ground.

Immediately after fleeing the Inn, they went straight to the home of the Professor and Jane. The familiarity and warmth of the home did nothing to comfort Sarah, though. The Inn had been her home as well as her only source of income. She had nothing now. The same was true of Meg and Jim. Jim, however, didn't seem to be taking it as hard as his mother. He just stood by the window examining whatever had been in the package the salamander alien had given him.

"What do we do now?" Meg asked.

The Professor wrapped a blanket around Sarah as she sat in his armchair. "I'm not sure, Megara. But, until you can get back on your feet, the three of you can stay here. As long as you need."

"Thank you," Sarah whispered.

"I can't believe, just like that, you lost everything," Jane muttered, to none of them in particular.

Meg didn't have anything. Except her father's dog tags, which she had received shortly after arriving on Montressor. A man her father had worked with gave them to her when he told her her dad was gone. Meg was only four at the time. Cale had gotten his dad's dog tags at the same time, but Meg didn't know what he did with them. She was quite sure he didn't bring them with him when he left the Inn two years ago. Meg reached up and ran her fingers over the chain of the dog tags. Cale hated his dad and was convinced their dads just left them. But, Meg knew they were dead. They had to be. If they weren't, they would have come for them by now.

"Meg!" Jim called out.

Meg walked over to the window. "What is it?"

Jim held out a gold sphere between them. It had strange markings on it that looked somewhat familiar to Meg. "This is it!"

"What?"

"This is the map to Treasure Planet."

Meg rolled her eyes. "Grow up, Jim! In case you haven't noticed, we're homeless. And broke. It's time for you to stop chasing childish stories."

Jim shook his head. "If we find Treasure Planet, we'll have enough to rebuild the Inn and keep us set for the rest of our lives."

"Stop it!" Meg hissed.

Jim looked her square in the eye. "I can prove it."

His fingers moved quickly over the sphere. There was beeping every time his fingers made contact. He then twisted the top half of the sphere and there was a whirring sound, followed by a green light flowing out of the sphere. It shot towards the ceiling and a grid slowly encircled the entire room.

"What's happening?" Jane asked.

Professor Porter adjusted his glasses. "It appears to be some sort of map."

Green holograms of planets filled the room. Jim gave Meg an I told you so look. He then walked over to the center of the room where there was a hologram of the planet Montressor. "Watch, Meg."

Meg crossed her arms over her chest. "Watch what?"

Jim touched the Montressor hologram. Suddenly the other holograms whooshed passed them as if they were flying through the galaxy. Each one vanished until there was only one planet left. It was seemingly ordinary with two rings orbiting around it. But, upon a closer look, Meg could see the planet looked almost identical to the sphere that had released the map. Now Meg knew why the markings looked so familiar.

"You found it," Meg breathed. "I can't believe it."

"Found what?" Jane asked.

Jim smiled excitedly. "The map to Treasure Planet!"

Meg slowly walked over to Jim and carefully touched the sphere. "This is really it, isn't it?"

Jim twisted the sphere again and the map disappeared. "The legend and all of that treasure is only a boat ride away. I have to go."

"We have to go," Meg corrected. "I'm going with you."

"Why would you even want to go? You said this was just a childish story."

Meg put her hand on her hip. "I'm not gonna stay here while you go off on an adventure. Screw that."

"Enough!" Sarah snapped. "No one's going anywhere!"

"But, mom-"

"No, Jim. You're not taking a joy ride through the universe and leaving me here alone to take care of things. I need you both here."

"You let Cale leave," Jim pointed out.

"I didn't let Cale do anything. He left in the middle of the night. There was nothing I could do about it." Sarah got to her feet. The blanket fell off her shoulders and landed in a heap on the floor. "But you two are not going to just ignore your responsibilities. You're staying here."

"Mom, if this trip is successful, we'll have enough money to-"

"I said no. End of discussion."

"Sarah, if I may," Professor Porter interjected. He guided Sarah to the other side of the room and lowered his voice. "Like you, I've been listening to the boys go on about Treasure Planet since they were kids. Now, since Cale has been gone, Jim has been getting into trouble. There are worst things than a few character building months in space. Like jail, for example. I don't know how many more times I can get him out of trouble. Perhaps this is exactly what he needs to straighten him out."

"Archimedes!" Sarah huffed. "I can't afford a trip like this."

"No. But, I can. I will gladly fund this trip and even go along to keep an eye on Jim and Megara," the Professor offered. "While we're gone, you will have access to whatever you need: food, money, whatever."

Sarah rubbed her temples. "I don't know about this. What if something happens to them? I promised Sam and Joseph that I would take care of them."

Professor Porter put his hand on her shoulder. "You can't always be there, Sarah. You have to trust them to go out on their own eventually."

Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right." She looked over to where Jim, Meg and Jane were all huddled together. Jim said something and Jane clapped excitedly. She walked over to them. "Jim? Meg?"

Jim became serious, ready to argue against whatever she was going to say. "Yeah?"

"Archimedes has convinced me to let you go."


	4. Chapter 4

It only took the professor a few days to find a crew he trusted for the journey. However, after speaking with the captain and going over details of the trip, it was determined the trip could take at least six months- especially since they had to stop at TAU-14 to get Cale and, according to the captain, TAU 14 was out of the way and would add a few extra days to the journey. The professor couldn't leave his work that long. In the end, the professor made the decision to stay on Montressor and, instead, made it clear that Jim would take the lead of the mission. Jane also opted to stay on Montressor to help Sarah take care of things and get back on her feet.

As Jim and Meg made their way through the space port in search of their ship, the Legacy, Jim felt the excitement and anxiety of the trip bubble up inside him. On the one hand, Jim could not believe that in just six months time he would have found Treasure Planet and would be in possession of Flint's Trove. Something he's been dreaming about his whole life.

On the other hand, Jim didn't know anything about spear heading a mission through space. In his life he's only traveled through space twice; once from Earth to a drifter colony and once from the colony to the planet Montressor. The first trip had only taken a couple days and the second a few weeks; and he was a passenger in both flights, not the guy in charge. This was completely new territory for him. And, honestly, he didn't know if he could do it.

"This is it!" Meg announced as they approached a large ship.

The ship didn't look like much. It was newer and larger than most of the other ships at the port, but looked like an old pirate ship in the steampunk novels Meg reads. Most ships now were standard frigate-type ships, completely enclosed like the airplanes back on Earth. But the Legacy's deck was wide open, meaning it had now to provide oxygen or protection of the crew from the elements of space.

"I don't know about this." Meg said as they walked up the gangplank. "How are we supposed to breathe on this ship once we leave Montressor's atmosphere?"

"Force field," a man informed them as he approached them from behind.

Jim and Meg turned around. The man was young, in his early twenties, with dark hair that fell over his rugged face. He eyed the two of them, with his gaze lingering on Meg a little too long. He reached up to brush a stray hair off his face, flexing his bicep in the process, no doubt trying to impress Meg.

"I'm Sinbad," he finally said. He held his hand out to Meg.

She stared at it like it was a snake and made no attempt to take his hand. "I'm Meg. And this is Jim Hawkins."

Sinbad looked back at Jim. "Ah. We've been expecting you, Hawkins. The captain would like to meet you and go over some things with you before we take off." He motioned for them to follow him.

"Can you tell us more about that, uh, force field?" Meg asked, trying to get a glimpse of everything on the ship as they walked by.

Sinbad nodded as they made their way up the narrow flight of stairs that led to the upper deck. "We have an invisible force field…" he paused. "I guess it's actually more of an invisible dome that encompasses and airlocks the ship so we can still breathe while in space, but not have to stay cooped up in a glorified metal tank or wear space suits and helmets."

"That's awesome," Meg said.

Sinbad smiled at her over his shoulder. "Yeah, it is. The captain's dad designed and built this ship about ten years ago. It's the only one of its kind."

They stopped outside of a door and Sinbad knocked on it. A moment later the door opened. A man around the same age as Sinbad stood on the other side. The first thing Jim noticed about him was the black eye patch over his right eye. A scar ran down his right away from the top of his eyebrow down to just below his cheek bone, though most of the scar was hidden underneath the eye patch. The second thing Jim noticed was how blue his other eye was; like it had been enhanced in some way.

"Captain, this is the Hawkins boy," Sinbad told him.

The captain nodded and motioned for the three of them to come in. Once they were all inside the captain's quarters, he closed and locked the door.

"I'm Captain John Smith," the captain told them.

"It's good to finally meet you," Meg told him. "Professor Porter talked a great deal about you after he hired you. He said there wasn't a better captain in the galaxy."

Captain Smith's face remained flat. "The professor exaggerated. I'm not even the best captain docked at this port. But, I appreciate his- and your- confidence in me." He turned to face Jim. "Hawkins, as I told the professor, this stop you want to make at TAU 14 is completely out of the way. I'd like to advise against the stop and set our heading straight for Treasure Planet."

"That's not an option," Jim told him.

"I think we should listen to the captain," Meg said.

Jim glared at her. From the start, she was against bringing Cale along on the mission. She was still bitter towards him for leaving them two years ago. "We're not doing this without Cale."

Captain Smith glanced back and forth between them. Finally he said, "Very well. We should reach TAU-14 in about a week or so. Sinbad, show them to their quarters while I prepare the rest of the crew for takeoff."

XXXXXXXXXX

There were only enough quarters on the ship for half the crew, so there were two to a room. Jim was bunking with Sinbad's brother, Flynn Rider, while Meg was bunking with the only other female on the ship, Jasmine.

The moment Meg met Jasmine, all of her self-confidence seeped right out of her. Jasmine was hands down the most beautiful woman Meg had ever seen. She had a perfectly fit, yet curvy, body, tan flawless skin, raven black hair that fell down to her waist and seductive brown eyes that somehow made Meg's purple eyes seem dull.

Jasmine was rifling through her suitcase when Meg walked into the room. She looked up and gave her a smile. "You must be Meg. I'm so excited to have another woman on this ship." She held her hand out to Meg.

Meg shook it and was surprised at how smooth Jasmine's skin felt- like she was literally made out of porcelain.

"The captain wants all hands on deck, Jasmine," Sinbad informed her.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Jasmine gave Meg a small wave before following after Sinbad.

Meg sighed and sat down on her bed. Which she was disappointed to find out was little more than a cot. She dropped her bag on the floor at her feet.

A few seconds later Jim appeared in the doorway. "Was that your bunkmate?" he asked her.

"You mean that Egyptian Goddess that just walked out of here? Yeah, that's her."

Jim sat down across from Meg on Jasmine's bed. "Wow."

"I know. Is it just me or is everyone on this ship exceptionally gorgeous?" Meg asked.

Jim agreed. An awkward silence fell over them for a few moments before Jim said, "I can't believe we're doing this."

"Me either. A couple weeks ago I was waiting tables at the Inn and now the Inn is gone and we're on a spaceship headed for Treasure Planet."

Jim shook his head in disbelief. "Is this even real?"

"I don't know." Meg looked around her small quarters. "I keep expecting to wake up in my room in the Inn."

Jim leaned back and rested his head against the wall. "I can't wait to find Cale and tell him about all of this."

Meg rolled her eyes. "I don't understand your loyalty to him. He left us. He doesn't care about us or any of this." She motioned around them.

"You're wrong, Meg. He didn't leave _us_. He left because he was bored and he didn't want to wait tables at the Inn for the rest of his life. He wanted more, so he went out and got it."

"Like your dad?" Meg challenged.

Jim sat up with a pained and angry look on his face. "What have I done to you to make you hate me so much?"

"What?" That wasn't the response Meg had been expecting.

"Look, I was only three when we left Earth and I don't really remember anything about my time there. But I do know you've always hated me, even back then. What I don't understand is why."

The ship suddenly jerked, cutting off Meg's reply. Jim shook his head and got to his feet. "Forget it. I'm gonna go watch the launch."

Meg stared at her doorway long after Jim had left. She hated Jim as a kid because she was afraid he would steal her best friend from her. As they got older and were living together, that fear became reality when Cale and Jim became best friends and Meg started to hate Jim even more. She thought maybe things would change between them after Cale was gone, but the truth was that Meg had been hating Jim for so long that she didn't know how not to hate him.


	5. Chapter 5

Being in space, it was a constant night, which threw Meg off. Montressor orbited near the sun and there was night and day. Meg kept a clock in her quarters that was set to Montressor time and also displayed the date so Meg would be able to keep track of the days.

The first night on the Legacy, Meg had trouble sleeping. She wasn't sure why, but nonetheless she found herself wandering the ship's deck at eleven o'clock p.m., Montressor time. She walked over to the edge of the ship and peered out at the vast blanket of stars around her. The airlocked dome around the ship truly was invisible. She couldn't see anything that would even remotely suggest it was there.

Meg wondered how far the wall of the dome was and if she could reach it from the deck. And if she could reach it, what would it feel like? She leaned forward and held her hand out as far as she could.

"You can't reach it."

Meg retracted her hand and looked up at Captain Smith. She hadn't heard him approach.

"The walls are ten feet from the ship in all directions."

"What's it made of?"

John shrugged. "Metal; just like any other ship."

"Invisible metal?"

John nodded.

"That's incredible."

"Yeah, it is." John hoisted himself up on the ledge and jumped off of it. He landed on something solid two feet down. "Invisible beams connect the walls to the ship," he exclaimed.

"How do you know where they are?"

"I've spent the last ten years on this ship. I know every inch of it." He held his hands up to Meg. "Come on. I wanna show you something."

Meg climbed over the ledge and let him lower her down to the beam. Her breath caught as she felt something solid beneath her feet, yet saw nothing but stars.

John hopped a foot over to another unseen beam and held his hand out to Meg. "The beam is about six inches wide. Be careful; if you fall you will definitely break something. It's a long way down to the bottom of the dome and it's pure metal."

Meg took John's hand as they walked across the beams, further and further from the ship.

"Okay. Stop," John instructed. Meg did as he said. "Now reach your hand out in front of you."

Meg reached out her free hand and was surprised to feel cool metal against her palm. "Wow," she breathed. "This is unreal." She let go of John's hand and pressed both hands against the wall. She couldn't help letting a small, excited laugh escape. She was floating in the middle of the sky. She was flying.

"I love it out here," John said, leaning against the wall.

"It's absolutely breathtaking."

They stood in silence for a while as Meg marveled at the sight around her. She found herself wishing she knew the names of the constellations she was seeing and the mythology behind them.

After a few minutes, John cleared his throat. "I have to apologize."

Meg looked over at him. "For what?"

"With everything that was going on this morning, I never got your name."

"Oh. It's all right." She held her hand out to him. "Meg Korso."

John's grip tightened around her hand. "Korso? You're not related to Joseph Korso, are you?"

The sound of her dad's name pricked her heart like a needle. No one's really talked about him since he died. Meg slid down the wall until she was sitting on the beam. "He was my dad."

"I'm so sorry." John sat down as well so he was level with her.

"You don't have to be sorry. No one ever talks about my dad. It's been a really long time since I've heard his name."

"Is it true what people say about him?"

"What do they say?"

"That he and Sam Tucker had a way to save humanity and recreate Earth."

Meg's head whipped towards John. "What?"

"I grew up in a drifter colony. People always talked about them and how they were going to save all of us. There were stories told- and written- about them; about how they were heroes." John smiled to himself. "Your dad was- _is_\- one of my heroes."

Tears pricked at the corner of her eye and she flicked them away with her finger. Meg had never heard any of this or the stories he was talking about. But, more than anything, she hoped they were true.

"I don't know if it's true," she confessed. "The last time I saw my dad was on Earth when I was four-years-old."

John leaned back against the wall and brought one leg up on the beam to rest his arm on. "I was devastated when I heard about his and Sam Tucker's deaths. I mean, obviously it was nothing like what you experienced, I'm sure. But, it felt like hope died with them, ya know." He pressed his lips together. "They still tell stories about them. Every time we dock at a drifter colony, I hear a new one. They're still heroes in everyone's mind." He looked over at Meg. "None of them mention Korso's daughter, though."

"What about Sam's son?"

"Sam has a son?"

Meg nodded. "His name is Cale."

John furrowed his brow. "Not the Cale Jim mentioned this morning? The one we're going to TAU 14 for?"

"That would be him."

John's eye lit up, somehow making it appear even bluer than before. "Holy shit. I can't believe I'm gonna have the descendants of my heroes on my ship."

Meg smiled at him. "I can't believe how excited you're getting."

John ran his hand through his blonde hair. "You have no idea how much of an honor it is just for me to be sitting here, talking to you. But, it's so much more than that. Everyone thought humanity's hope died with your dads; but what if it didn't? What if you and Cale are humanity's new heroes?"

Meg held her hands out in front of her. "Whoa! Slow down, Captain. Up until a week ago I was a waitress. And Cale's been working at a salvage station for the past two years. We're _not_ heroes. I don't even _know_ anything about how our dads were planning on saving humanity and recreating Earth." Meg got to her feet. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you."

"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. How 'bout if we talk about something else?"

Meg contemplated just going back to her quarters, but she just wasn't ready to give up this view, yet. She nodded and sat back down. "How 'bout we talk about _your_ dad?" Meg suggested. "I mean, he designed and built this ship; that's really impressive. Not to mention, awesome."

"It is," John agreed. He didn't say anything more.

"What's he up to now?" Meg pressed.

"He died last year."

Meg winced. "I'm sorry."

John looked down at his jeans. "Thanks."

"How did it happen? If you don't mind me asking…"

"I don't mind," he replied. "But, I'm not ready to talk about it."

"Fair enough." Meg could tell it was time for another subject change. She looked down at all of the stars beneath her. "Ya know, Jim would love this."

"Love what?"

Meg motioned around her. "Being out here like this. He and I don't see eye-to-eye on, like, anything. And we rarely get along. But, I gotta admit: that kid's got a brilliant mind and an incredible imagination. For him to be out here and feeling like he was truly flying…" Meg took a breath and exhaled. "Words couldn't describe what it would be like for him. Jim was only three when we left Earth and five when we left the drifter colony for Montressor. I don't think he remembers anything other than living on Montressor." Meg smiled to herself. "He's probably lying awake right now, all excited about traveling through space in this ship."

John smiled. "Yeah?"

Meg nodded. "You should take him out here sometime. I mean, he's the one in charge of all of this; it'd be a good way to get on his good side. Maybe he'll put in a good word for ya with the professor; get you a pay raise."

Meg made that last bit up as she went. The truth was, she'd been thinking about Jim since she talked to him this morning. It was Meg who clearly needed to get on Jim's good side and she was hoping this would help. She had met enough of Jim's boyfriends and flings to know his type- and John Smith was his type to a T; from his intense blue eyes; to his handsome, rugged face; to his hard, muscular body. The eye patch, scar and black leather gloves John always seemed to be wearing gave him an air of danger that Meg knew drew Jim to him. Physically, John was perfect for Jim.

Meg had no idea if John was into guys or not, but if she could somehow set them up, maybe Jim would see that she's trying to better the relationship between them and maybe they could actually be friends.

"I'm not in it for the money," John said, breaking into Meg's thoughts.

"Then what are you in it for?"

"The adventure. When you grow up idolizing heroes like Sam Tucker and Joseph Korso and hearing stories about the things they've done, it gives you the desire to go out there and do the same. Have adventures, live life fully and make the universe a better place at the same time."

"I'd really like to hear some of these stories."

John smiled at her. "I'll do you one better." He stood up and helped Meg to her feet. "Come with me."

Meg and John carefully made their way across the beams back to the ship. He then led her up to his quarters. John lit a lantern near the door and walked over to his desk. He rifled through one of the drawers until he found what he was looking for. He then grabbed a pen off his desk and brought both over to Meg.

"I don't know why I didn't see it before," John said, holding a book out to Meg. "You look just like him."

Meg was completely taken aback to see a picture of her dad on the cover of the book. The book was titled _Dog Tags_.

"What is this?" She whispered, taking the book from him.

"There isn't a whole lot of entertainment in drifter colonies, so we had to make our own. A lot of people wrote books. Some of those books are about your dad and Sam."

Meg ran her fingers over the cover of the book. Meg didn't have any pictures of him. She had had one of the two of them from her fourth birthday (which she had found sewn inside Mr. Fuzzyfinkles a couple years after moving to Montressor; Sarah told her her dad must have put it in there, knowing they would be separated when they left Earth), but the picture was lost in the fire at the Inn.

"That one's my favorite," John told her. "It has excerpts from what's believed to be a journal written by Korso."

Meg blinked back tears as she looked up at the captain. "There's a journal written by my dad?"

John shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Your dad died so long ago, it's hard to know what's real and what's fiction."

Meg nodded. "Of course." She hated that she had no way of knowing the difference between what was true about her dad and what was made up for entertainment.

John cleared his throat. "At the risk of completely embarrassing myself…" He held the pen out to Meg. "Would you sign it?"

Meg laughed in spite of herself, happy that John managed to lighten the mood. She took the pen from him and pulled the cap off with her teeth. She quickly scrawled out a short message to John and then signed it. She held the book up to him so he could read it.

_John,  
Thank you for giving a little piece of my dad back to me.  
-Megara Josephine Korso_


	6. Chapter 6

_Dog Tags_ was a short novel, barely more than 100 pages long. In the two weeks from when John gave it to her and when they docked at TAU 14, Meg had read it a dozen times. She kept the book rolled up in her back pocket and carried it everywhere so she could read it whenever she had a spare moment. She had hoped to learn more about her dad, but the book was more of a romance novel than a biography.

The book takes place mostly before Earth was destroyed, back when Korso was in the military. He fell in love with a woman named Charlie Galins. They couldn't spend much time together (and the time they did spend together was explicit enough to make Meg want to get a lobotomy to remove the image of her dad and the woman in bed together). Korso spent most of his time with his partner, Sam Tucker, trying to save the planet. Charlie only knew what they were working on was called the Titan Project, but Korso wouldn't share any other details with her. The day everyone evacuated Earth, Korso tried to find Charlie, but he couldn't. He gave one of his men his dog tags and told him to find Charlie Galins, give them to her and tell her he will find her as soon as it's safe. It took the man four years to find Charlie and in that time he never saw or heard from Korso again. He assumed Korso was dead and when he gave the dog tags to Charlie he told her Korso had died. She was heartbroken, but by that had already moved on and was married to another man. She and her husband had a baby whom she had named Joseph, after Meg's dad. Meg knew that was supposed to be a touching scene and sentimental, but it always made her roll her eyes. She knew it wasn't a true story, but it angered Meg that Charlie had given up on her dad so quickly and just married some other man before she even knew he was dead.

Meg reached up and touched her dad's real dog tags that she always wore around her neck. She was glad she had received her dad's dog tags and not some woman who didn't actually love him.

While the Legacy's pilot, Eric, navigated the ship towards TAU 14's dock, Meg sat in the galley and pulled out the book. She flipped to the last page. It was a photo copied image of a ripped journal page. Meg didn't know if the writing on the page was her dad's since she didn't have anything to compare the handwriting to. But, there was something off about what it said:

_Sam and I sent our dog tags today. We hope the Titan Project will be successful and we'll be reunited with the ones we love on New Earth. But in case we don't survive this, we want proof in the universe that we existed. And maybe when they receive the dog tags, it'll help them remember us._

Meg didn't know why the journal entry would seem displaced in this book while the rest of the entries fit, but it puzzled her nonetheless.

A bump jerked the ship slightly and Meg knew they had docked. She put the book back in her pocket and headed down to the cargo bay where the walkway from the ship to TAU 14 was. The captain and Jim were already gathered there, but Meg didn't see anyone else.

"Are you ready?" Jim asked her.

"I think you should stay here," Meg told him. "We don't know what we're walking into you and we need you and the map safe so we can still find Treasure Planet."

"Meg's right," John agreed. "She and I will find Cale; you stand guard here and make sure no one else tries to board this ship."

Jim scowled at them, but didn't argue. It's not like he would be missing out on much; it was just a salvage station.

John unlocked the door and he and Meg started down the walkway. Before they entered TAU 14, John stopped her. He pulled one of the guns out of his holster and handed it to Meg.

"Do you know how to use one of these?"

Meg carefully took the gun from him. "I've never used one before. Just point and shoot, right?"

"Don't forget to aim."

Meg nodded as they walked into the salvage station. The first thing she noticed was the smell; like a mixture of rotten food, a backed up toilet and month-old garbage. Meg put her hand over her mouth and nose and did her best to keep her lunch down.

"Let's find Cale and get off this rock as quickly as possible," John said.

Meg didn't say anything, afraid if she opened her mouth she might vomit.

They wandered the station for a few minutes before they finally found someone. He was a large alien of a species Meg had never encountered. His size was intimidating, but his face seemed friendly enough.

"Excuse me, sir?" John approached him. "We're looking for Cale Tucker; do you know where we might find him?"

The alien pointed down a long, narrow corridor. "His quarters, most likely. His shift just ended. Make a left at the end of this corridor, then a right when that corridor ends. His is the last one on the right."

"Thank you."

"When you see him, tell him Firrikash and Po are looking for him," the alien said, before walking away.

John and Meg followed the directions they were given until they found Cale's quarters. The metal door had rust in some places and looked like it hadn't been used a while. At first Meg thought they had the wrong place, but on the wall next to the door _Cale T. _was written in black stencil letters.

Meg hesitated for a moment, not sure if she was ready to see Cale again after he had abandoned them two years ago. She took a deep breath and knocked.

A few moments later, Cale opened the door. The chain lock prevented him from opening it all the way, but Meg still found herself staring into his olive brown eyes.

Cale stared blankly at her for a second before he registered it was her. "Meg?"

"Yeah."

Cale closed the door, unlocked the chain and then opened the door all the way. "What are you doing here? And who's that guy?" He motioned at John behind her.

Meg glanced at John over her shoulder, then turned back towards Cale. "I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Cale stepped out of her way.

"I'll wait out here," John told her. "Don't take long."

Meg nodded before stepping into Cale's quarters. Cale closed the door behind her. There were no windows and a lightbulb above the door provided the only light.

Cale pulled Meg into an awkward hug. She half reciprocated it before stepping away from him.

"What are you doing here?" Cale repeated. "Don't get me wrong, It's good to see you. But, you're the last person I ever expected to show up here. Jim or Sarah, maybe. But not you."

"Jim's with me. He's back on the ship."

"I'm guessing you're not just here for a visit."

"Not exactly." Meg turned away from him and looked around the room.

Cale's quarters were barely bigger than the one Meg was sharing with Jasmine on the Legacy. There was a sink on one wall next to a table. A bed sat against the wall across from it. The corner was sectioned off and Meg guessed that was the bathroom.

"What's this?" Cale asked, pulling the book out of her back pocket.

Meg spun around to face him again. "Give it back."

"Another one of those steampunk romances?" Cale teased. He unrolled the book and looked down at the cover. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he looked at Meg. "This is your dad," he said, pointing at the cover.

Meg took the book from him and stuck it back in her pocket.

"Meg. Why is there a picture of your dad on the cover of that book?"

"It's about him. Sorta. Your dad is in it, too. It's about how they were heroes, trying to save humanity."

Cale let out a cruel laugh. "Heroes? They abandoned us."

"They died trying to _save_ us."

Cale shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe, after all these years, you still believe in that fairy tale."

Meg bit her lip. "Speaking of fairy tales: wait 'till you hear why Jim and I are here."

"Why _are_ you here?"

"Jim found the map to Treasure Planet. Professor Porter hired a crew with a ship and we're heading for it," Meg told him. "That man out there is John Smith, the captain."

Cale stared at her. "Is this a joke?"

"No. This is real. This is happening." Meg shrugged. "You don't have to come. But, Jim refused to do this without you, so here we are. But, if you'd rather stay here…"

"You guys are out of your minds," Cale said. "Even _if_ Treasure Planet was real, and even _if_ that map is legit; do you know how dangerous it is? Everyone is after that treasure and most of them will kill to find it. Plus, who knows how long it would take to get there-"

"Six months," Meg told him.

"Six months of just flying through space, hoping we don't get lost out there or face enemy ships and natural disasters."

Meg crossed her arms over her chest. "Cale Tucker, are you _scared_?"

"No. I'm smart. I don't want to die chasing some story through the universe."

"Fine. Don't come. It's just as well, anyway; I was against you coming with us." Meg headed for the door, but paused and looked back at him. "Oh. And I was supposed to tell you that Firrikash and Po are looking for you."

The color drained from Cale's face. "On second thought, Meg; it would seem I need to make myself scarce. I'll come with you."


End file.
